Guinness PRO12 Previews Round 2
Two of the five teams that gained a victory in the first round go head to head also on Friday night, so one of their perfect starts will have to go when Edinburgh Rugby host Connacht at BT Murrayfield.
The Guinness PRO12 began last weekend with a scintillating opening round of games which saw more tries scored than ever before (33), the second highest ever draw in the competition (32-all Scarlets v Ulster), and increased attendances at all games resulting in an overall improvement of almost 20% compared to the gates for the opening round last year.
Friday night rugby returns in force to the Guinness PRO12 in round two, with no fewer than four games at the start of the weekend. Both Italian teams are in action, Zebre travelling to Belfast to play Ulster and Benetton Treviso welcoming Munster to Italy. Both Irish provinces will be looking for their first win of the new season, although Ulster came away with a three point haul from their four try, 32-all draw at Parc y Scarlets last weekend.
The final game on Friday night pits two Welsh regions against each other, Newport Gwent Dragons welcoming table topping Ospreys to Rodney Parade, a ground they last won at in the PRO12 on New Year’s Eve 2012.
Champions Leinster are in action against Scarlets at the RDS Arena on Saturday and will be hoping to avoid a repeat of their start to the 2003/04 season which saw them clock up two defeats.
The round wraps up in Wales on Sunday when two more teams that won their opening games come face to face, Cardiff Blues and Glasgow Warriors. Blues sit second in the table thanks to claiming five tries in their 41-26 defeat over Zebre, whilst Glasgow needed a last gasp penalty to give them the four points against champions Leinster.
